The Texas Tribune highlighted the growing problem posed by the growth of recapture in their piece titled “Rich Schools Hope Houston Topples Robin Hood Plan.” While property-wealthy schools might argue with that headline and ask the question if you can be considered ‘rich’ if you are forced to give all your wealth away, the article still raises some important points:

257 school districts are expected to make recapture payments this school year, including for the first time Houston ISD. That is up from 142 districts that made recapture payments in 2006.

Those 257 districts are expected to pay $2 billion of local property tax revenue to the state (compared to the $1.2 billion contributed from proceeds of the Texas Lottery).

At the same time that Robin Hood recapture and local contributions to public education have grown, the State’s share has declined.